How to Create a Type-Safe Enum with Structs in Go

Structs Enums
2026-04-17T12:05:42+00:00
Create a custom type and constants in Go to simulate type-safe enums and enforce valid values at compile time.

Go does not support type-safe enums with structs in the same way as languages like C++ or Rust, but you can achieve type safety by defining a custom type and using constants with that type. Define a new type, assign constants to it, and use a switch statement or a map to enforce valid values at compile time.

type Status int

const (
	StatusPending Status = iota
	StatusActive
	StatusClosed
)

func (s Status) String() string {
	switch s {
	case StatusPending:
		return "Pending"
	case StatusActive:
		return "Active"
	case StatusClosed:
		return "Closed"
	default:
		return "Unknown"
	}
}